As this year’s GOAL conference wrapped on 29 October in Vancouver, British Columbia, Di Gang, the Executive Deputy Secretary General for the China Aquatic Products & Marketing Association, took the stage at the Four Seasons Hotel to announce the location for 2016’s festivities – Guangzhou, China.
With China accounting for 60 percent of global aquaculture output over the last 50 years, the country is a natural fit to host the Global Aquaculture Alliance (GAA)’s annual get-together.
“China has become the largest aquatic products market,” relayed Gang. “Consumers are turning from traditional fragmented wet markets to multi-channel markets with branded and nutritious products.”
At the same time, these Chinese markets are looking for and require aquaculture certification schemes, such as that offered in the GAA’s Best Aquaculture Practices (BAP) program, according to Gang.
There are five major provinces in China known for aquaculture: Guangdong, Shangdong, Jingsu, Fujian and Hubei. The Guangdong Province, the No. 1 aquaculture province of China responsible for 14 percent of total aquaculture output for the country, “warmly welcomes [upcoming GOAL guests] to visit aquaculture farms, processing plants and seafood wholesale markets” located within its jurisdiction, said Gang. Vannamei shrimp and tilapia exist as the main aquaculture exports for the province.
On the whole, some of the key marine aquaculture species in China include yellow croaker, flounder, bass, grouper, shrimp, crab, oyster, clam and sea cucumber among others, revealed Gang. Prominent freshwater species in China include black carp, grass carp, silver carp, bighead carp, tilapia, crayfish, crab and more.
